Bids being accepted for proposed trail

Path to allow UGA students to cross part of East Campus

Posted: Wednesday, June 30, 1999

By Joan StroerStaff Writer

After years of planning, the North Oconee River Greenway is still a conceptual trail, concrete only in the minds of planners and engineers, but another section of the winding river path is closer to becoming reality.

University of Georgia architects are accepting bids for the construction of the part of the cross-county river trail that will pass through campus, an official said Monday.

The half-mile campus portion of the greenway will start somewhere on River Road and meander along the North Oconee River to College Station Road, allowing university members and other hikers and bikers to cross a small part of East Campus away from the bustle of streets, said Danny Sniff, director of the Office of University Architects.

The campus foot trail will eventually extend southward to Riverbend Road if more money is allocated, Sniff said.

The entire river trail will wind from Sandy Creek Nature Center off U.S. Highway 441, through downtown and campus and onward along the river. Construction of the first leg of the river trail begins in September along a downtown stretch of the river. Where the trail eventually stops will depend on funding and on landowner opposition along the Oconee.

So far, UGA hasn't received an acceptable bid for its part of the project. Twenty percent of the UGA trail, budgeted at $336,000, is being paid for with university money and 80 percent is coming from the state Department of Transportation.

The university sent notices to 25 different construction firms and netted one bid from Garrett Paving and Grading Contractors Inc. of Winterville, which submitted a base bid of $742,056 last week. With extras in the construction, the Garrett Paving job would cost $1,018,976, according to the bid sheet.

''Basically, we're going to explore other options,'' Sniff said.

BYLINE1:By Ben Deck

BYLINE2:Staff Writer

DANIELSVILLE -- A Madison County commissioner filed suit in Madison County Superior Court Tuesday accusing the man leading a recall effort against her of libel and slander and claiming the county probate judge did not notify her of the recall effort.

District 3 Commissioner Patsy Pierce also filed a contempt motion against county commission Chairman Wesley Nash, claiming he is not obeying a Superior Court judge's ruling in an unrelated case.

In the new lawsuit, Pierce, a Republican, claims she was not notified by Judge Donald ''Hoppy'' Royston, the county's election superintendent of a recall effort against her.

Royston said he told Pierce of the recall action.

''The law says that, when (the recall petition) is picked up, she must be notified, and, when it's returned, she must be notified,'' Royston said, adding that Pierce was notified at the proper time.

Pierce's suit accuses Jerry Mattox, the chairman of the recall committee working to unseat her and vice chairman of the Madison County Republican Party organization, of libel and slander.

Mattox ''has embarked on a malicious, reckless, deliberate and irresponsible campaign to defame and vilify'' Pierce, according to the lawsuit.

The suit claims Mattox falsely accused Pierce of breaking the law and falsely made claims against her performance as a commissioner. The suit does not specifically state what those false claims are.

Mattox said everything he has claimed during the recall effort has been true.

''The truth of a statement is an absolute defense,'' Mattox said.

But the recall effort will have to wait until Madison County Superior Court Judge George H. Bryant can sort the issues out. Bryant signed a restraining order Tuesday halting the recall effort.

A hearing on the matter is set for 9:30 a.m. Aug. 19 in Madison County Superior Court.

The contempt motion Pierce filed stems from an earlier, unrelated lawsuit against Nash.

On Sept. 15, 1998, Walton County Superior Court Judge Marvin Sorrells ruled that Nash overstepped his authority, acting without commission approval in some instances when he should have gotten it and refusing to abide by commission decisions in other instances.

In the contempt motion filed Tuesday, Pierce contends that Nash is flouting Sorrells' ruling by continuing to hire county employees, by refusing to obey security measures adopted by the commission, by refusing to provide an updated security plan to county commissioners and by refusing to turn over any materials he has from his duties as county treasurer.

No court date had been set Tuesday in connection with the contempt motion.

Nash denied any wrongdoing, saying his is doing what the judge told him to.

''I think this is all water under the bridge,'' Nash said.

Nash said he has not hired any county employees since the judge ordered him not to, that he follows the security guidelines established in the court ruling and that he has no materials from his term as county treasurer.

Nash also said he turned the updated security plan over to Sheriff Clayton Lowe, adding that Lowe is in charge of county security.

''I submitted it (the updated plan) to the head of security, and that, to me, is submitting it to the board (commission),'' Nash said.

The salvo of litigation fired Tuesday is just the latest round in a raucous political battle that has raged for much of this year.

Early in the year, commissioners Ken Clark and Jack Fortson were targeted for recall, but both resigned prior to a recall vote.

In all three cases, the recall efforts cite allegations the commissioners participated in closed-door meetings held in 1997. Although Clark and Fortson resigned, Pierce said she will continue to fight the recall effort against her.

The action Tuesday also comes a day after Mattox told the sheriff's department that five of the six signs erected by the recall committee had been vandalized.

Mattox said he noticed the vandalism while driving through Danielsville on Monday. Before the vandalism, the four-by-eight foot painted plywood signs read, ''Sign a petition to recall Patsy Pierce.''

Vandals added strips of plywood with Mattox's name painted on them to the signs, turning the advertisements into pleas for his recall.

Mattox is not an elected official and therefore is not subject to recall.

On Monday, Pierce said the vandalism came as a surprise to her.

The sign vandalism and the libel lawsuit are just the latest episodes involving Pierce and Mattox.

Mattox spearheaded an unsuccessful effort earlier this year to oust Pierce from the local GOP organization.